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The latest piece of news to come out of Paul Brown Stadium was the official signing of DT Domata Peko. He's been on the Bengals radar as an extension possibility for a while now and both sides sounded relieved to get this one done.

Adding two more years to the contract of a 29-year-old defensive lineman can be viewed as risky business in the young NFL. If you believe the Pro Football Focus numbers (a debate for another day, but at the very least they serve as a jumping off point) you would see that Peko was the lowest ranked player on the Bengals defense (-15.4). He fell five points below the next lowest, Rey Maualuga.

PFF number crunchers would shrug at the Peko extension and point to five consecutive seasons rated at least four points in the negative, if that does anything for you.

As the Bengals have learned over the Marvin Lewis era, football can't be played on piece of paper stacking up who compiled the most talent or who compiled the best PFF ratings. Players must have roles and team leadership consistently provides the difference between a 31-27 win and a 27-24 loss.

Last year only seven teams produced an average final score margin of more than one possession. This league lives off parity. Even the bad teams have a chance at the end. Even the great teams must make a play every week to hang on.

There's too much talent in this league to make every decision off age and PFF numbers. Such a big part of what propelled the Bengals to three consecutive playoff berths for the first time in franchise history has been the strength of the core of the locker room. Didn't the team come off a 2010 season where everyone blamed the distractions for ruining the talent? Didn't the city just come off a Reds season where everyone pointed to a lack of leaders for the team falling shy of expectations?

These factors are very real. And that is exactly why the Bengals extended Domata Peko.

First off, he's been a starter for every game of a run of three straight years of top seven defenses in the NFL. Talk about advanced analytics all you want, that means something. Second, he's as big a part of what created this positive locker room environment as any player in there.

With Michael Johnson gone, his leadership will be needed even more on the defensive line. Of the top nine players fighting for the rotation, Robert Geathers (30), Peko (29) and Wallace Gilberry (29) will be the only players older than 26.

When you bottle great chemistry in an NFL locker room, you try to never let it out.

Also, from a Bengals point of view, they want to be in the business of rewarding team guys. Of rewarding high character guys that perform on and off the field. What message would it send if they let Peko walk? It would stab at the heart of the team and send a message to young players that even if you do everything right, make plays and lead this team you won't be rewarded. What young player would sell out for that?

Also, I wrote about Pro Days and how the Bengals are watching different elements of these workouts then you would think. In fact, you'd be surprised at the lengths they go to at these events to judge the player. Mike Zimmer said he would look for anyone -- even the guy's landlord to find out what the guy is like when the cameras aren't rolling.

TWITTER QUESTION OF THE DAY

@pauldehnerjr why did the bengals go to Johnny Footballs pro day? Seems like a waste of time.

Oh yes, the Johnny Manziel circus in camo shorts yesterday at Texas A&M. When people are calling a Pro Day a bigger circus then Tebow, you know it's out of control. As for why the Bengals were there, well, you can start by reading the above story about chasing intangibles. And remember, just because everyone was watching Manziel doesn't mean he was the only prospect in the building. WR Mike Evans may have stolen the show and OT Jake Matthews may end up a top three pick. Plus, about seven others are potential camp bodies or college free agents.

What if the team was so enamored with Evans or Matthews, they decided to trade up? What if they met someone who rose a red flag on any of the three and backed off looking into a deal. What if Evans performed poorly and slipped to No. 24 but the team wasn't concerned with the red flag after talking to him in College Station.

The MMQB talks about a Sweet 16 for the NFL playoffs. I'd say 14 works for me, the bottom line is there needs to be a reward for having the best record in the league. You lose that with eight playoff teams per conference.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles were lovable, pizza-eating heroes in a half shell. Now Michael Bay has a hold of them and the series has become this. I'll keep my Saturday morning cartoon version, thank you. Have a great weekend everybody.